Woods leads Cannondale-Drapac in Vuelta a España

by Shane Stokes

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Having made his Grand Tour debut earlier this year in the Giro d’Italia, riding aggressively and finishing fifth on two stages, Canadian Michael Woods will head the Cannondale-Drapac squad in the Vuelta a España. “Mike Woods is the guy that can really surprise people,” said directeur sportif Juanma Garate on Thursday.

“Not people from within the cycling world, because people surely know him after his stellar performance in his first Grand Tour, the Giro d’Italia, earlier this year. He’s really focused for the Vuelta, and Mike feels really comfortable when there is a steep uphill final. There are plenty of those this Vuelta.”

Woods said that riding the Giro was a ‘great learning experience,’ and so too seeing Pierre Rolland riding strongly in that race. “I learned that I am capable of going deeper and taking greater risks tactically than I had previously thought,” he said. “Definitely the experience of riding a Grand Tour has given me a better perspective on bike racing, and it has made me, in general, stronger.

“I have had a solid preparation for this race with a great training camp with Alex Howes in Colorado. I came very close to winning stages at the Giro, so obviously I would like to try and win a stage at the Vuelta. But I am going to keep my personal ambitions relaxed until I get a better feel of how I am going in the race.”

The team favours youth over experience, with an average age of 27 and four riders making their Grand Tour debuts. They are Will Clarke, Tom Scully, Brendan Canty and Toms Skujins. Two others are riding their second Grand Tours, namely Woods and Tom Van Asbroeck, with Simon Clarke, Davide Villella and Joe Dombrowski completing the team.